Reviews

PREVIEW: 2020 SEASON AT DIVERSIONARY THEATRE

PREVIEW: 2020 SEASON AT DIVERSIONARY THEATRE

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Printed and posted at the San Diego Jewish Journal 12/19 http://sdjewishjournal.com/sdjj/december-2019/emotionally-moving-and-intellectually-stimulating/ Language is a living, breathing thing. It evolves to encompass new inventions, concepts and thinking. And how we talk about gender has certainly been evolving. So, before we start exploring the exciting new season coming up at Diversionary Theatre, the nation’s third oldest continuously producing LGBTQ theater, let’s lay down a few definitions, so we’re all on the same page. It's all about gender identity and gender Read More →

“AIDA” at San Diego Opera

“AIDA” at San Diego Opera

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Aired on KSDS-FM on 10/25/19 RUN DATES: 10/18/19 - 10/27/19 VENUE: San Diego Opera/Civic Theatre It takes a good-sized village to mount an opera. And “Aida” is giving us a peek inside. To kick off its 55th season, San Diego Opera is presenting its eighth production of the beloved 1871 Verdi masterwork in a new way—a ‘theatricalized concert’ that puts the 80-piece orchestra right onstage with the black-clad 41-member chorus. The pit is sealed off, so the principal singers can Read More →

“MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE” at the Ahmanson Theatre, L.A.

“MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE” at the Ahmanson Theatre, L.A.

Views:513

Aired on KSDS-FM on 1/3/20 RUN DATES: 12/3 - 1/5/20 VENUE: Ahmanson Theatre, L.A.  If the mention of “Swan Lake” calls up images of dainty ballerinas fluttering in starched white tutus — you haven’t seen “Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake.” Sir Matthew, the UK’s most popular and successful choreographer, has been creating wildly imaginative dance theater pieces for decades. And this magnum opus won acclaim around the world, including Tony Awards for both Direction and Choreography. Using the music of Tchaikovsky, Read More →

“AN ILIAD” streaming from North Coast Repertory Theatre

Views:439

Posted at TimesofSanDiego.com on 8/15/21 RUN DATES: 12/20/20 - 1/24/21 VENUE: North Coast Repertory Theatre Can one war stand in for all wars? In the brilliantly conceived “An Iliad,” a riff on Homer’s epic poem (“The Iliad”), the Trojan War, with its larger-than-life warrior-heroes and lamenting wives and mothers, can indeed be seen as emblematic of every war since the Trojan War of 1200 B.C.E. In the 2012 stage adaptation by director Lisa Peterson and actor Dennis O’Hare (working from Read More →

“THE TAMING OF THE SHREW” at The Old Globe

“THE TAMING OF THE SHREW” at The Old Globe

Views:197

Posted at TimesofSanDiego.com on 6/17/22 RUN DATES: 6/5/22 - 7/10/22 VENUE:  The Old Globe Shana Cooper, director of The Old Globe’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” is right, of course. Despite the 430 years that have elapsed since William Shakespeare wrote the often-contentious play (one of his early efforts), we’re still living in a patriarchal, misogynistic society. While the term “shrew” may have fallen out of favor, it’s been replaced by “ho” or “be-atch” and a raft of others. Even Read More →

“BEN BUTLER” at North Coast Repertory Theatre

“BEN BUTLER” at North Coast Repertory Theatre

Views:318

Posted at TimesofSanDiego.com on 11/2/21 RUN DATES: 10/20/21 - 11/21/21 VENUE:  North Coast Repertory Theatre Talk about your controversial characters. The real-life historical figure who inspired the 2014 play, “Ben Butler” (Benjamin Franklin Butler, 1818-1893; note that his brother’s name was Andrew Jackson Butler), was a sometime Democrat who voted 57 times to make Jefferson Davis President (and subsequently ran for the office himself). A Major General in the Union Army who had no military training. A successful trial Read More →